File Photo: Turkish soldiers are seen with their armored vehicles near Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay, Turkey, on Jan. 23, 2018. (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. State Department said on Monday that the special representative for Syria engagement, James Jeffrey, recently visited the rehearsal site of U.S.-Turkey joint patrols and highlighted the role of bilateral military cooperation.

According to a statement, Jeffrey, together with Joel Rayburn, U.S. deputy assistant secretary, visited Turkey's Gaziantep on Dec. 8 to meet with U.S. and Turkish military officials, Syrian refugees, civil society actors, and political groups working on Syria.

Jeffrey and Rayburn also "visited the site of U.S. and Turkish military rehearsals for joint patrols in fulfillment of the Manbij roadmap and discussed with U.S. and Turkish military officials the importance of the unique military cooperation between the United States and Turkey in resolving the conflict in Syria."

"Throughout, they discussed issues facing the Syrian diaspora and the necessity for a Syrian-led and -owned political process under U.N. Security Council resolution 2254," the statement added.

For his part, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Friday called on the United States to lift military observation posts in northern Syria, and urged Jeffrey in their meeting to end the U.S. collaboration with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey sees an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

However, speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jeffrey said that the U.S. military posts near Turkish border in northern Syria aim at "less harassment fire" and ensuring security of the region including Turkey.